Illinois Fruit and Vegetable News:

A Newsletter for Commercial Growers of Fruit and Vegetable Crops
A Publication of University of Illinois Extension and the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences

Vol. 9, No. 16, October 16, 2003

Download this newsletter in pdf format
You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." --Aristotle

Address any questions or comments regarding this newsletter to the individual authors listed after each article or to its editor, Rick Weinzierl, 217-333-6651, weinzier@uiuc.edu. To receive email notification of new postings of this newsletter, call or write the same number or address.

This issue's words of wisdom ... which usually means the jokes ... are at the end of newsletter ... check the last page.

In This Issue:

Crop Reports (from Maurice Ogutu)

Notes from Chris Doll (Leaf drop, a New Hampshire orchard visit, and the Illinois Nut Tree Association meeting)

Fruit Production and Pest Management (Calypso and Zeal registered for use on apples and pears)

Vegetable Production and Pest Management (Corn earworm control failures?)

University of Illinois Extension Specialists in Fruit & Vegetable Production & Pest Management

Crop Reports

In northern Illinois, the first freezing temperatures were reported in most areas on October 2 (23-28°F), although in some areas the freeze occurred a day earlier on October 1 (28-32°F). Day temperatures have been in the lower 60s to 50s except on October 7, when the temperatures rose to 80s. Night temperatures have been in the upper 30s and 40s. The area received about 0.10 - 0.60 inches of rainfall on September 26, and from a trace to 0.20 inches since the beginning of October. The apple crop is excellent this year, and lots of varieties remain available. Picking of Red Delicious, Ultra Gold, Liberty, Jonagold, and Rome Beauty is going on while other fall apple varieties such as Braeburn, Enterprise, Goldrush, Granny Smith and Crispin picking will start as from the middle of October. Harvest of fall-bearing raspberries is over, as most of the fruits were hurt by freezing temperatures. Yellow jackets and multicolored Asian ladybird beetles are a problem in apple orchards, as they are feeding on fruits. Pumpkin vines and immature fruits were injured by the freezing temperatures, though most growers picked pumpkins before the freezing temperatures on October 2.

Maurice Ogutu (708-352-0109; ogutu@.uiuc.edu)

Notes from Chris Doll

The beautiful fall weather is great for living and great for giving the final red color to red apples and a nice blush to the yellow or green varieties. It is Fuji harvest time and about time for Goldrush. Hanging ability is a plus factor for these two varieties, but a possible negative for Goldrush is the tendency to skin crack during rainy periods.

Leaf drop has begun on both apple and peach trees. The 50 percent drop stage is the timing suggested for peach bloom delay sprays if used. Leaf curl sprays can begin after the majority of leaves have fallen. Years ago, Dr. John Titus of the U of I did some research on spraying apple trees with high rates of urea at this time of the year. The concept was that the nitrogen would be absorbed by the leaves, stored in the tree over winter and was effectively used in the early spring. It was research that could be used but not universally accepted.

Leaf drop is one of the phenology markers that is not critical in most production practices. The early spring markers like green tip, pink, bloom, etc. are more commonly used. My introduction to the term was by Dr. Jim Mowry, who was a member of the lilac phenology group while he was at Carbondale. This group came to light at the recent American Society for Horticulture Science (ASHS) meetings, in a talk by Dr. Mark Schwartz of the University of Wisconsin. He evaluated the findings for over 50 years, which indicate an earlier bud break and first bloom of 2-3 days. Does anyone have accurate apple records to concur?

I attended the ASHS meetings in Providence last week and had the privilege and pleasure of hearing Tom Schwartz give his research presentation on sweet potato marketing. He reported that most sweet potato sales are via supermarkets, and that direct marketing should give more on-farm returns.

A side trip to the Gould Orchard at Contoocook, NH, made me envious of a market with an outstanding scenic drive to get there. The orchard consists of 80 varieties on 43 acres and has gone from wholesaling to retail for most of the crop. Two items stood out. The first was cider, which was $3.95 a gallon for pasteurized and $4.95 a gallon for untreated, with the untreated outselling pasteurized by 10 to 1. The second was the sale of utility grade apples at a 33 percent discount from the number ones.

The Illinois Nut Tree Association fall meeting will be held on Sunday, October 19, 9:30 - 3:00 at the Ben Winter Farm Museum on Highway 40 west of Altamount. All nut enthusiasts are welcome.

IN MEMORIAM: Carl Boyd of Anna, a life-long fruit grower, died on September 26 from a stroke. Carl operated the home orchard on a Centennial Farm southwest of Anna all of his life. He was a variety enthusiast as well as a grower and marketer. Carl is survived by his wife Louise, daughter Nancy Boyd Warren and son Tom. He will be missed by all who had the opportunity to know him. Memorials can be made to the American Stroke Association.

Chris Doll

Fruit Production and Pest Management

New Insecticide Registrations for Apples for 2004

The USEPA recently approved a label for Bayer's neonicotinoid insecticide thiacloprid (trade name = Calypso) for use on apples and pears. Calypso's label provides rate recommendations for several pests of pome fruits, but its key fit for Illinois apple growers will be in controlling codling moth populations that are resistant to organophosphates and certain pyrethroids. Calypso is related in chemistry to Cerexagri's acetamiprid (Assail).

Valent received labeling for etoxazole (trade name = Zeal) for use as an early-season miticide on apples and pears. Zeal's "fit" will be alongside Apollo and Savey, two currently registered miticides with similar modes of action and optimum application timing.

Growers may want to begin contacting their suppliers and their Bayer representatives to make sure that adequate supplies of Calypso will be available in Illinois in 2004.

Rick Weinzierl (217-333-6651; weinzier@uiuc.edu)

Vegetable Production and Pest Management

Corn Earworm Control Failures in Sweet Corn?

There have been at least a few reports from around the Midwest about serious corn earworm infestations in sweet corn plantings that received what would seem to have been well timed applications of Warrior or Capture. This is not yet something to be alarmed about, but it is something that warrants some inquiry. If you used these insecticides in the latter part of the summer of 2003 and achieved less control than you usually do, please notify me. For your observations to be most useful, I need to know what insecticide you used, your spray dates and rates of application, estimates of percent infestation (how many ears with worms), and, if possible, pheromone trap counts of moths from your location or somewhere nearby.

Send your information to me by email to the address below or by US Mail to Rick Weinzierl, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801.

Rick Weinzierl (217-333-6651; weinzier@uiuc.edu)

This issue's words of wisdom ...

Priorities ...

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

University of Illinois Extension Specialists in Fruit and Vegetable Production & Pest Management

Illinois Fruit and Vegetable News Home Page